The Awkward Storyteller
Tabletop Game
All fun is in players' ability to create fun and hilarious stories with their answers | Players need...
The Perfect Sister
Book
Original Title: The Family Secret Claire always wished for a sister. But should you be careful...
Mystery Thriller Stand-alone
Lost Luggage
Book
Cyd Redondo, a young, third-generation Brooklyn travel agent who specializes in senior citizens, has...
Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
Book
In 1943, from a windowless basement office in London, two brilliant intelligence officers conceived...
Debbiereadsbook (1202 KP) rated Meet Me at the Top in Books
Aug 5, 2022
Alice's parents treat her to a trip of a lifetime, to see all the places in her favourite movie, Sleepless In Seattle. She bumps into Sam, quite literally, and he gives her an unofficial guided tour. It's clear they get along, and the few days they spend together are the best either have had in a long time, but Alice lives clear across the country. Can they make it work?
What I loved most about this book, was what's missing in my usual reads: there is none of that explicit sex I usually like. Now, don't get me wrong, a good sex scene works in the right place in all manner of books, but this one? Does NOT need it. At. All. I really did love that all that was not here.
Sam and Alice are well suited, both carrying some baggage and both not really looking for anything, but finding each other at this time and in this place really was the right thing.
Like I said at the beginning, it's only short, and I really hope Ms Pratt will find time for a follow up, cos I want to know, no, I NEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED to know, that Alice and Sam really do make it work. So PULEEEEEEEZE???
Oh, and I really should comment on the cover of this book. I loves it, for almost the same reason as I loves the book: lack of nekkid man on the cover. So please, don't ever change your covers, I love them all.
5 warm and fuzzy, too stinking cute, far too short stars
*same worded review will appear elsewhere
Merissa (12066 KP) rated Dexterity Check (Dungeons and Dating #5) in Books
Feb 21, 2023
The thing I adore about this author is, no matter which book I'm reading, it's always my favourite. Does that mean I'm fickle? I'd like to think not. I'd like to think her writing is just that good! This series has been a hit with me from the beginning, and each book is on my "To Buy as Paperback/Hardback" list as I need to have the real thing.
Arjun and Eli balance each other out in so many ways but are both too stubborn to admit it. So similar in so many ways, and yet it is the differences that make them work so well together.
I will say this was a highly emotional book for me. First one strike (Arjun), then another (Eli), and then the final one (Arjun). Three strikes and I was down. Eyes leaking with no end in sight. Those damned Care Bears have done it again. I won't give any clues because you need to read it for yourself.
This has been a fantastic book and I really don't want it to be over. Only one more book to go and then it looks like re-reads are in my future. Ten out of five stars for sheer brilliance. A MUST-READ!!!
** 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!
Laura Doe (1350 KP) rated Should You Keep A Secret? in Books
Apr 14, 2022
The book is based around the idea of finding something out about a friend’s other half and then the dilemma of whether you tell them and potentially blow up their relationship, or whether you keep it to yourself but feel guilty every time you see your friend.
It was interesting to see how the friends wrestled with the idea of whether to tell their friend or not and the way in which they went about it. It was also interesting to follow the fall out, and see what happened to the relationship afterwards.
I also liked how we had chapters from different people’s perspectives and we got to know them a bit more and also found that, although from an outsider’s point of view their lives might seem pretty good, everyone has their own demons and own problems to deal with.
I didn’t like how we switched between first person and third person narratives, and wasn’t completely sure why the only first person narrative was for Stella, I would have preferred all first person (the chapters told you when the character had changed) or all third person rather than a mix.
However, overall this wasn’t a bad book to read. The secret was pretty ridiculous, but I suppose that’s one way to keep you reading, and I felt annoyed by some of the characters decisions. But it was something a little different to my usual reads.
Zombie (The Cursed Manuscripts)
Book
On December 21, 2012, according to the Mayan Calendar, the world was supposed to end. It didn't. But...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Tidelands ( Fairmile book 1) in Books
May 8, 2022
Book
Tidelands ( Fairmile book 1)
By Philippa Gregory
⭐️⭐️⭐️
A country at war
A king beheaded
A woman with a dangerous secret
On Midsummer’s Eve, Alinor waits in the church graveyard, hoping to encounter the ghost of her missing husband and thus confirm his death. Until she can, she is neither maiden nor wife nor widow, living in a perilous limbo. Instead she meets James, a young man on the run. She shows him the secret ways across the treacherous marshy landscape of the Tidelands, not knowing she is leading a spy and an enemy into her life.
England is in the grip of a bloody civil war that reaches into the most remote parts of the kingdom. Alinor’s suspicious neighbors are watching each other for any sign that someone might be disloyal to the new parliament, and Alinor’s ambition and determination mark her as a woman who doesn’t follow the rules. They have always whispered about the sinister power of Alinor’s beauty, but the secrets they don’t know about her and James are far more damning. This is the time of witch-mania, and if the villagers discover the truth, they could take matters into their own hands.
This was my first Philippa Gregory book and I liked it but it didn’t wow me! I took a while to get into it and struggled a little for a while. I’m glad I stuck with it though and it did really pick up towards the end. I’m a fan of historical history reads so the era was right up my street. I must say the ending was just so sad and my heart actually wrenched for Allinor. I look forward to reading more.
ClareR (5726 KP) rated Stone Blind in Books
Jan 24, 2023
I loved how the stories of Medusa, her sisters and Perseus were woven together so that we get a rounded view of the story. Medusa’s sisters, the Gorgons Sthenno and Euryale are seen as more than just monsters. They are given personalities and feelings - they care for their little sister Medusa, and nurture her from a baby into a young woman.
But Sthenno and Euryale aren’t there when Medusa is raped by Poseidon. And this is where we’re introduced to Medusa as victim. She’s never normally portrayed as a victim, even when Perseus decapitates her, but Haynes has turned this story on its head. And I’m most definitely here for all that!
To match the new Medusa, we have a new Perseus. He’s an accidental hero. He just wants to save his mother the only way he can - but he needs a lot of godly interventions and help. He’s a bit brainless, if I’m honest!
I’ve always thought that the Gods were petty, and their constant bickering with one another in this book just reinforces this - I really liked how they argued, fought and tried to ge tone up on one another.
And the ending was as emotional as only a sentient, decapitated head could be. Poor Medusa. Still used as a tool for men’s pleasure, displeasure and anger.
I’m eagerly awaiting whatever comes next from Natalie Haynes, because this book was outstanding.