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Race the Darkness (Fatal Dreams #1)
Race the Darkness (Fatal Dreams #1)
Abbie Roads | 2016 | Paranormal, Romance, Thriller
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Race the Darkness is a dark, paranormal, romance, suspense story, filled with connections, legends, and "bad stuff" that you wouldn't wish on anyone. Xander is our main male - an as*hole by his own admission. The trouble is, I can completely understand why he behaves the way he does. Even with his attitude, he wormed his way into my heart, and I only wanted the best for him. Isleen is almost ethereal, and not just because of her physical appearance.

This story is gripping from the very beginning, and it is hard to believe that this is Abbie Roads' debut novel! Exceedingly well written, with no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt the reading flow. Race the Darkness flows so well, building up at certain points, before coming gently down, and then building up again.

I have no hesitation in recommending this to anyone who wants a slightly darker read, with plenty of 'character'. Absolutely wonderful.

* I received this book from The Book Garden / NetGalley in return for a fair and honest review. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
1978 | Action, Adventure, Drama
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"The second film that I suggest is called The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, also called The Master Killer. This film moved me so much not only from the martial arts action and the philosophy of Buddhism that was instilled in the movie, but also the overcoming of oppression. Growing up, I knew that I was being oppressed; I knew the black man’s struggle was oppressive in America, you know, reading Malcolm X and Martin Luther King. I knew of our struggle. But I didn’t know that that struggle was all around the world. I didn’t know that struggle was in all time periods. And when I saw this movie, it resonated with me in a way that I was like, “Wow, the government is just oppressing them, coming in and taking their homes, destroying their property. How they gonna win?” And from a single word, which was “Shaolin,” our hero was able to go find himself and find the way to help bring the end to that oppression."

Source
  
Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
1973 | Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I’ve been going through Scenes from a Marriage, the Bergman miniseries, and getting very invested. I think it’s the truest-to-humanity thing I’ve ever seen. I mean, every single person you’d like, or care about as a filmmaker in the past 50 years is influenced by Bergman. He is the ultimate genius when you watch those movies. Nothing’s better than the performances in (these) movies. I feel like Bergman’s movies can come across as being cold and hopeless, but it’s Liv (Ullmann) and all the women stars he made films about that took his sensibility and turned it on his head, making it more nuanced, lush, and beautiful. It’s (the women) being thoughtful and kind, and open, that makes the difference. Everyone reading should go to the Criterion Channel to watch the Bergman collection. I mean, the movies are short, and I am sure that just watching those short movies they’ll get really inspired, without a doubt. You know, think of Persona... nothing comes close to that!"

Source
  
Death to the French
Death to the French
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A name that is probably more familiar - perhaps even all but synonymous - with his most famous literary creation, Horatio Hornblower.

Hornblower, however, is not the only of his creations that has their adventures set during the Napoleonic Wars: Rifleman Dodd is another.

He's also one that I was totally unfamiliar with, or with the fact that this creation (and story) inspired Bernard Cornwell's still-ongoing 'Sharpe' series - it's very easy, reading this, to see the similarities between the two creations!

This is set in Spain, round about the times of the Lines of Torres Vedras (1810 or thereabouts, I think), with Rifleman Dodd cut off from his company during a retreat and forced to spend several months behind enemy (French) lines as he tries to make his was back to his own company, sometimes with the (dubious) aid of Spanish (or was it Portuguese? ) Guerilla's and other times entirely on his own.

This also doesn't shy away from the full horrors of the war, with several of the passages and chapters told from the French point of view.
  
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Paige (277 KP) rated The Outsider in Books

Sep 27, 2020  
The Outsider
The Outsider
Stephen King | 2018 | Thriller
10
8.7 (31 Ratings)
Book Rating
Character Development (2 more)
Plot Twist
Depth
The Outsider
The Outsider by Stephen King follows Ralph Anderson as he pursues a murder investigation as a Police Detective. To elaborate further, the investigation leads Ralph Anderson to the murder of a young boy, who was also sexually assaulted by the now, unknown murderer. Terry Maitland, a married man and Coach of Youth Sports, is a highly respected member of society, but he is to become suspected of murder owing to irrefutable Forensic Evidence and Witness Statements.

Despite this, Terry Maitland denies this immediately, and has an alibi which is seemingly irrefutable, just as the Forensic Evidence and Witness Statements against him were. His alibi positions him hours away from the where the murder occurred. Terry Maitland was now a man able to be in two places at once.

An absolutely enthralling book by Stephen King which I was unable to put down, and thoroughly enjoyed reading. Admittedly, The Outsider was one of the first Stephen King books that I read; I have since read multiple of his books.
  
Show all 6 comments.
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AJaneClark (3975 KP) Sep 27, 2020

I have just brought it. Will add to my holiday reading pile

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Paige (277 KP) Sep 27, 2020

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did ☺️📚

To Kill a Kingdom
To Kill a Kingdom
Alexandra Christo | 2018 | Romance, Young Adult (YA)
4
7.9 (17 Ratings)
Book Rating
Meh?
"Everyone is a blank canvas, waiting to be filled with the color of discovery."

Well...

I mean I REALLY liked the story. The plot. Even the characters. And omg is this beautifully written.

"Hearts are forever scarred by our true nature."

However. This was a slooooooow burn. Very slow paced for me. For once a book where I almost felt things were too descriptive. I felt at times that I had to force myself to push through it. I was enjoying it, yes, but I was struggling to read through it. Its a feeling that I'm having a very hard time explaining, and honestly unlike anything I've ever felt when reading a book. So that was frustrating.

"The truth of what I am has become a nightmare."

Now with that being said, those last few chapters, like maybe the last 100 pages, SAVED this book for me. Things finally picked up there.

So am I glad I read it? Yes.
Is it one of my favorites? No.
But thats okay.
  
Pretty Girls: A Novel
Pretty Girls: A Novel
Karin Slaughter | 2016 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
8
8.4 (20 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wow. Let me start by saying that there is definitely reason enough for this book to come with warning labels, such as ⚠ graphic scenes, extreme violence, descriptive sexual assault ⚠
However, I am not easily traumatized, so I read on, even though I'd been told by several readers how gruesome it is. They were not wrong. Pretty Girls is without a doubt the most gruesome book I've ever read. That aside, all-in-all, I loved it. It certainly kept me on my toes, had my heart pounding, halted my breathing once or twice. The only reason I have 4 instead of 5 stars is because, every now and then, I felt myself go almost numb. Not bored, oh no, but in a trance-like state where I'd still be reading, but I couldn't absorb the words, causing me to go back a page or so. It was definitely overload. There was also one particular event that, if I'm honest, kind of irritated me with it's simplicity. Overall, however, I enjoyed the thrill!
  
One Taste of You
One Taste of You
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Contains spoilers, click to show
I'm sad to say I didn't care for this story. It started out with clichés, insta-love, and cheesiness (and no, not the cute kind of cheesy). Everything felt forced, none of the scenes seemed to flow - Zoe and Zeke's first night together was awkward, not sexy. Then, of all things, Zoe finds out she's pregnant! *eyeroll* The author didn't make it feel like months had passed, so it literally seemed as if she found out she was pregnant just a couple of weeks after their first time. Another thing that really, truly grated on my nerves was how Zeke kept begging Zoe to not deny him sex. This is all he worried about! His words, "please don't ever deny me sex" went straight through me, for some reason. I can say the murderer was a surprise, if only because she's mentioned once or twice throughout the whole book, and the reason behind the murders is a bit farfetched. All in all, I was disappointed and I have no plans to continue reading this series.
  
A Serial Killer's Desire (Heart Of Darkness #1)
A Serial Killer's Desire (Heart Of Darkness #1)
C.F. Rabbiosi | 2019 | Erotica, Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
ADULTS ONLY!!

211
Kindle
A serial killers Desire ( Heart of Darkness book1)
By C.F.Rabbisosi

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments

He's a rich bad boy. She's a damaged beauty. Same old story?

Not even close.

Because he's not just gorgeous, he's deadly. He lures women into his deceptive web and tortures them into submission, LOVES them to death, and won't stop until they've fallen for their captor. Won't stop until they've loved him with their last breath.

But this time, he's taken the wrong girl. This time, it could be him who's captured instead, his heart chained by an astonishingly well-matched vixen.




Ok! Ok ok this was one hell of a book. So many times I’ve thought wtf! But I just couldn’t stop reading. It’s far, twisted and oddly sexy as hell! Maybe I need help? This is a new author for me and I read her words about writing dark erotica but I wasn’t expecting to love the story behind all the sex too! I’m genuinely shocked as wasn’t expecting that at all!!
  
The Wife Between Us
The Wife Between Us
Greer Hendricks, Sarah Pekkanen | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
6
8.1 (37 Ratings)
Book Rating
Let me start by saying this: That was unexpected. I usually write notes when I read, jot down theories and emotions, express suspicions or ask questions. While reading this book, that same sentence, "that was unexpected", was repeated over and over. So many people have raved over The Wife Between Us, I was curious. Not to say I'm highly disappointed, but I suppose I feel as if the book didn't live up to the hype. Granted, there were several twists and turns - some I was able to guess correctly and others I could never have predicted - but, overall, it was pretty good. The most intriguing part, for me, was trying to figure out if Vanessa was actually crazy, like her mother, and if I was falling for her altered reality. I would read and read, painting Richard as the villain, then she would say or think something that would make me pause and wonder just how like her mother she really could be. That ending, though, was a total bombshell!