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You Are Not Alone
You Are Not Alone
Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen | 2020 | Contemporary, Thriller
8
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Better Than Anonymous Girl
Contains spoilers, click to show
Spoilers in Effect. You’ve been warned.


So I read the first two books by these lovely authors, loved The Wife Between Us. Didn’t really like An Anonymous Girl. So although I didn’t set the bar too high this time around it’s always worth giving them another chance. Luckily I’m glad I did. I did quite enjoy this one and loved the little twists and turns that got me going.

Shay isn’t likable. But she’s not one to underestimate either. She’s quirky and may seem a bit off and not so socially inclined but she may be one of those types of people where you once get to know them, they seem to be pleasant to be around with. Now I’m not quite sure why she had to lie to the sisters like that in the first place. Did she feel that awkward? She had so many opportunities to come clean but decided to continue the lie. I’m not sure if that was because we still want her flawed or it was just a plot hook to keep the story going. Nevertheless it was just odd how she just continued the lie (although it would have changed the story, but it might have changed for the better?)

I loved the Moore sisters despite their manipulative behavior. I’d rather hoped there was more backstory to them instead of the little breadcrumbs here and there but the twist behind it was so good! I definitely was not expecting that! What I didn’t appreciate was they could have used Shay’s skills! It was infuriating! They were just so hung up on her lying (which was stupid of Shay to do it to begin with) that they couldn’t see how much value she would bring to the group. Can you just imagine what this group can do if Shay was a part of them? It would have been a completely different novel but perhaps a good one.

The plot itself is good. The intrigue and the twists and turns are there, perhaps not as much as I would like as I’ve read their previous works in the past. The back and forth between points of view was good and a breadcrumb trail is set throughout the storyline to keep you wanting to read more. Love that twist in the end but I have to admit, the ending could have been better. Sure the Moore sisters had good interests in mind, but whether their hearts were in it, maybe not so much.

Loved this book and was happy with it. It’s so much better than the last one and brings me back to wanting to read more of these two authors in the future.
  
As Dust Dances
As Dust Dances
Samantha Young | 2018 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Romance
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Characters (2 more)
Plot
Steamy
Absolutely Magical
If I could rate this book with infinite stars I would. Samantha Young is definitely my favorite romance author. Her books capture you in a way that too many authors fail to do. As Dust Dances was simply breathtaking. The plot captured me from the moment I picked it up. I never wanted it to end.

Samantha Young captured the magic from her On Dublin Street books and made something so beautiful I'm going to experience a book hangover from. The characters were well written, and realistic. I loved the chemistry between each character & I loved them for their heartaches, imperfections, and their story.

The Plot, like the characters, was engaging. It has been way too long since I picked up a book that grabbed me so forcefully I couldn't focus on anything else. The plot was a unique twist to a rockstar romance and I loved every second I spent reading it. Honestly, I'm so upset that this book is over. I'm actually tempted to reread it right now to experience it again.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. With that said, I bought this book because it is just so beautiful I knew I had to own it. It's seriously one of my favorite books that I have read. It's beautiful, heart wrenching, and touching. This has the magical feeling that Samantha Young has created with all of her books.
  
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Tyondai Braxton recommended Quaristice by Autechre in Music (curated)

 
Quaristice by Autechre
Quaristice by Autechre
2008 | Rock
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Great record from a great band. I read somewhere that Quaristice was based more on systems they used for their live set at the time and the results are more spontaneous and less edited. I don't know if that's correct or if that was someone else's assessment but each idea feels really fresh and exciting. Usually people like an artists earlier work but I really love their most recent records the most. This is a group where anything they do, I love, but they're one of the few groups where I really like their newer stuff as opposed to their earlier stuff. I think that they've set themselves up to really do anything they want. And you kind of feel that in the way that they work now, particularly with these last five. They got a lot of flak for the previous record, before elseq 1-5, the Exai record. Everyone was saying "Oh it's too long, it needs to be edited!" so the next record they do is five records, four and a half hours. It was such a fuck you. They're operating on such a different terrain, it's exciting. But I like this record in particular because it has a feeling to it which I haven't heard in their other stuff. It did feel more live – it didn't feel as polished, not that their stuff necessarily feels polished, but their version of it. It felt more spontaneous, and it's just a great, great record."

Source
  
The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, #1)
The Lost Prince (The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten, #1)
Julie Kagawa | 2012 | Young Adult (YA)
10
9.1 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great Spin off
This book is the first in a spin off series. The original series is "The Iron Fey" and the events from it are closely related to this story. The reader was first introduced to the main character Ethan during the iron fey series. He is now much older, and his perspective is a lot different.
I enjoyed seeing the characters I loved from the main series. The book was balanced really well where the new characters were never over shadowed, and I became just as invested in there story. This book should only be read after the original series. If not I do think the reader may have trouble understanding some of the events.
  
Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization
Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization
2006 | Civilization, Economic
AOB BOARDGAME REVIEW: THROUGH THE AGES
Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is a bear of a game – and I love it. It’s the game that I wish I had as a teenager to play with my older brothers instead of our weekend long Risk or Axis and Allies binges (Those weekends may have had something to do with why I feel this way about dice now).

If you are a filler game type of person, or someone who doesn’t like to get too deep into games, I want to be honest with you – Through the Ages is probably not for you.

Reviewer: Joseph
Read the full review here: http://www.artofboardgaming.com/reviews/through-the-ages-review/
  
Pandemic Legacy: Season 2
Pandemic Legacy: Season 2
2017 | Environmental, Exploration, Medical
Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 Review
Everyone wants to make a legacy game these days. After the wild success of Pandemic Legacy: Season 1, there seemed to be an explosion in campaign style games where the rules and mechanisms are changed as the game progresses.

Thus far, nothing has really been able to capture the magic of both engaging gameplay and story that Pandemic Legacy gave us. But now Season 2 is here, flipping the game on its head a bit, but promising to give us a similar experience. So, how does it stack up?


Original Rating: 5/5
Reviewer: Andrew Smith
Read the full review here: https://www.boardgamequest.com/pandemic-legacy-season-2-review/
  
Nancy’s friend Helen asks for Nancy’s help is discovering why her family’s mansion is suddenly haunted. Meanwhile, Nancy’s father Carson is working on a case that leaves him in danger. Can Nancy solve both cases?

I remember enjoying this one as a kid, and I enjoyed it just as much now. The plot is good with enough twists to keep me entertained, although the climax was a bit easy. Likewise, the characters are a tad flat, but not too bad. It’s easy to bit on the flaws, but this book shows why Nancy is still so popular today.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/10/book-review-hidden-staircase-by-carolyn.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.
  
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Dana (24 KP) rated The Book Thief in Books

Mar 23, 2018  
The Book Thief
The Book Thief
Markus Zusak | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.8 (129 Ratings)
Book Rating
I have waited to read this book for a few years now and I am not sure why I did that. This book is phenomenal and gives a different insight into World War 2 that I haven't often seen in literature, especially in young adult literature.

Susan did a beautiful job in making his characters as human as possible. They were all multidimensional and we'll thought out. I truly loved them.

The narrator being who he was have this another deeper level that I very much respected. It became more than just Leisel's story and instead became everyone's story.

Overall, I adored this book and need to pick up another of Zusak's.
  
I can't remember reading any other book that focuses on a main character's transition from human to vampire. I suppose we'll see more of them, now that Stein has done so. The book is a fairly good read, but you should definitely ignore the text on the back, as it's misleading. I assume <i>Becoming</i> is the first of a series, as there was a major issue left unresolved at the end.

This is definitely <b>not</b> a book for romance fans. While there are some explicit sex scenes, there isn't much real romance. I rather liked the omission, but some folks might assume that it is a paranormal romance.
  
Her Stepbrothers Demands (Stepbrothers, #5)
Her Stepbrothers Demands (Stepbrothers, #5)
Trinity Blacio | 2017 | Erotica
4
3.3 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
For an author that's written quite a few books now I'm surprised how badly it's written. No depth in characters and the story is all over the place and flits from one thing to the next, I even had trouble deciding which character was talking in some parts. Some characters just seem to waft into the scene and then are straight back out which seems pointless and doesn't really add to the story.

The cover and the description looked promising but fell flat quite quickly, Very disappointing and after looking at reviews for Trinity's other books it seems to be a common complaint with her writing and so it's unlikely that I will read anymore from this author.