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KarenRC (6 KP) rated The French Girl in Books

Jul 23, 2018  
The French Girl
The French Girl
Lexie Elliott | 2018 | Thriller
6
6.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Ten years after they all went on holiday to celebrate finishing uni, a group of friends are shocked to hear that the ‘mademoiselle next door’, who went missing just after they left, has now been found, or at least her remains have.. It turns out not all was as it seemed and they are all now under suspicion of murder. The group, who mostly went their separate ways after the trip, are brought back together for fresh questioning by the enigmatic French detective. Suspicions as to what happened and who could be responsible, as well as old wounds being opened that had never fully healed, mean that it is not a totally happy reunion.
The story is told by Kate who, as well as having to deal with this, is also trying to start her own business and is now haunted by visions of Severine. Although it does focus on Kate’s side of the story, it does well to explain the other characters connections to the story and possible theories as to why any one of them would have had reason to cause Severine harm.
I am not too sure on my feelings to this book.. I thought the writing was really good and I was enjoying the unfolding story waiting for something unexpected to happen… but then it didn’t and I was ultimately left feeling a bit disappointed with it, especially the ending. I think it would make a great holiday read and as debuts go, it was ok. I look forward to reading more from Lexie in the future.
  
Archangel's Storm (Guild Hunter, #5)
Archangel's Storm (Guild Hunter, #5)
8
8.5 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
With wings of midnight and an affinity for shadows, Jason courts darkness. But now, with the Archangel Neha’s consort lying murdered in the jewel-studded palace that was his prison and her rage threatening cataclysmic devastation, Jason steps into the light, knowing he must unearth the murderer before it is too late.

Earning Neha’s trust comes at a price—Jason ...

This is one of my favourite series I really enjoy Nalinis books. This is the story of Jason and Mahiya. Which hasn't gripped me as it normally would. It was great catching up with Dimitri and Honor as well as Raphael and Elana seems so long ago I read how it all started.
Looking forward to the next installment!



⭐⭐⭐⭐

  
American Beauty: Original Motion Picture Score by Thomas Newman
American Beauty: Original Motion Picture Score by Thomas Newman
2000 | Soundtrack
7.0 (3 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"This is my alarm clock; I wake up to it every morning. It’s so brilliant because it begins with this... and then I listen to it when I read books on a loop and it’s enough for me. It’s all I need. I have like one song for every mood. “I heard this way before I watched the movie American Beauty. It was many, many years ago and it was one of the first songs I had. I had an orange iPod which I got for Christmas and I only had this song on it for years. I still think if I went into that iPod now, this is the only song I would have on it. I haven’t had it for years though, and they were such nice colours. “It’s good for walks in the forest, it’s like everything is still. Another is the Finding Nemo soundtrack which is also good for timeouts or when you go for walks. It’s really lovely.”"

Source
  
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Satellite (The Satellite Trilogy #1)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Satellite by Lee Davidson What a book this is for readers. You can read this book in several ways. I would let you decide if you want to read it these ways.

Story of Grant
Afterlife kinda story
Story of Friendships
Story of Mystery


You can decide for yourselves. I really enjoyed the book. To me it was a story of Grants life and learning the truth about about his life. He makes some mistakes and he needs to learned. He does not want to remember his life with Tate.He starts to makes friends. He does not know about his Legacy. He meets her and does not not know that his first assignment has to do with her. He goes about doing it until he makes a big mistake. He does some really strange things. There are surprises along the way. Grant needs to learn a few things. There are different page turners.The characters are done well. I had a really hard time putting this book down once I started it. It was that good. I really hope to get the next book to read or to review. I was enjoying Grant and Willow and now I also enjoyed Ryder and Troy.  It really strange and we meet Elliott and it a surprised that I do not want to give you an ending of this book away or what Elliott is doing or how he see Grant or know Grant.
  
My Sister's Bones
My Sister's Bones
Nuala Ellwood | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
7.2 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Also read my review here: http://bookbum.weebly.com/book-reviews/my-sisters-bones-by-nuala-ellwood

NOW AVAILABLE IN THE UK!

<b>Trigger warnings are noted in the first paragraph.</b>

<b><i>We’re all of us, every day, just a hairbreadth away from evil. If I’ve learnt anything from fifteen years of reporting, it’s that. But I couldn’t expect these people to understand.</b></i>

This is a really heavy read as it deals with some really dark and depressing subjects, <b>such as the war and refugees in Syria, domestic & child abuse, rape, death, mental illness, alcoholism and miscarriages.</b> Don’t read this if you’re having a low period in your life because this is not going to make you feel any better, throughout it’s a rather distressing and upsetting story.

Each character in this novel was well developed, no matter how small a part they played in the plot. Ellwood has done a fantastic job with her research into PTSD as Kate’s fears and anxieties seem so real to the reader. Though I’ve never experienced anything even close to PTSD, I can really imagine how terrifying and disturbing it would be, from reading this book. It’s definitely the best and most harrowing description of the condition I’ve ever read in a fiction novel.

This was a really well presented novel and I’m amazed that it’s a debut! It was excellently written and thought out. My only issue being that sometimes, the timings in this book felt a little off. When Kate and Paul were together, one minute they'd be serving dinner and the next, after a small 5 lined conversation, it would be midnight and time for Paul to leave and Kate to get into bed. It seemed like large chunks of the day would just disappear.

Maybe I shouldn’t have read some other people’s reviews on this beforehand, but because I was expecting all these super duper amazing twists, I kind of didn’t feel that they were super duper amazing. I also found some of them to be a little far fetched and silly, rather than surprising.

I can definitely see why this has gained so many 5 star ratings, but it’s all down to personal preference at the end of the day, and this one was just a little too dark for my liking. That's not to say I didn't like this...I enjoyed this a lot, hence the 4 stars. I found myself not wanting to put it down, even when my eyes were telling me it was definitely time for sleep. It was certainly a thrilling and page turning read, but I don’t know if I could recommend this to anyone because of all the dark subject matters. It seems like the sort of book some people are going to love for it’s dark realism and others are going to hate that and find it too distressing to read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books UK for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.
  
Yep, I finished this book already. I was only going to read a littler bit, but then couldn't stop. Until I had to when I suddenly realized someone had put anchors on my eyelids when I hadn't noticed. I only had two or three chapters left, so that was a total buzzkill. Even though the first chapter had me giggling like a loon (do loons giggle?), it's not all laughs in Hyperbole and a Half, but has some truths about depression and self. I never caught Allie Brosh's blog when she was updating it, but I'll definitely be checking it out now.
  
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Dana (24 KP) rated Throne of Glass in Books

Mar 23, 2018  
Throne of Glass
Throne of Glass
Sarah J. Maas | 2012 | Children, Fiction & Poetry
10
8.7 (91 Ratings)
Book Rating
Oh my god!! If you have not picked this up and you like fantasy novels, do it right now. Stop what you are doing and read this book!!! It is full of badassery, not too much romantic stuff, and magic. In the battle to find out which person will be crowned the King's Champion, lots of mystery and intrigue happens to our main heroine, Celaena Sandorthien. What is even cooler about this, there are pronunciation guides in the back of the book (at least in the paperback edition). I can't wait to start on the next one!!
  
SB
Stage Business
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book was unlike anything I've read before in that the characters are stage actors playing detectives in order to solve a case on their own without involving police (due to specific reasons that are laid out over the course of the story). It makes total sense now, but I never would've thought that undercover police work is basically just acting, so who better than actual actors to do the work? It's such an interesting story, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a little mystery and detective stories with a bit of a twist on the usual.

4.5 stars
  
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Emily Mortimer recommended Edie: American Girl in Books (curated)

 
Edie: American Girl
Edie: American Girl
Jean Stein | 2021
(0 Ratings)
Book Favorite

"A boy I had a crush on gave this to me to read at university. In a way, it was my first taste of America and of New York, where I now live. It really affected me. A tragic tale of the life and death of Edie Sedgwick, the charming, broken, sophisticated, naive, sexy, innocent muse for a generation of geniuses—Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan and the Velvet Underground. The Queen of the Scene and its victim, too. I couldn’t stop looking at the photo of her on the cover in all her eye make up, and trying to work her out."

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Chloe (778 KP) rated Heir of Fire in Books

Apr 18, 2021  
Heir of Fire
Heir of Fire
Sarah J. Maas | 2014 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.9 (38 Ratings)
Book Rating
Epic (3 more)
Growing world
Fantastic
Fast paced
Forgiveness (0 more)
Stepped up game
Contains spoilers, click to show
This series has really stepped up now, I am so excited to read the next one it seems like it will be epic.

I loved this installment, the characters were great as was the coming of age angst and final battle. The valgs and continued mystery to the whole plot were really great and pretty scary.

My only criticism is the relationship between Celeana and Rowan, who is suddenly forgiven without much of a lash back from Celeana, which to me goes against her character. I also found the blood oath bit repetitive.