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Better than Fiction
Better than Fiction
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Two books in one, where do I sign up?
I love stories that go back and forth between past (in this case 1916) and present day. There are few authors who can pull off writing a duel story line well, however, I have found two author who did one together! They did a fantastic job. I think that the author’s expressed both sets of characters accurately and I really felt involved in their lives by the end of the book. I was sad to see it end. My favorite part though was probably the premise. Too often I think we chose to live in a made-up world rather than being thankful for the one we have. I am guilty of that myself. I believe that the authors did justice to this problem and summed it up in an understandable way. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars for the duel story line that was unique and interesting, the great premise, and the amazing characters.
  
Our Little Cruelties
Our Little Cruelties
Liz Nugent | 2020 | Thriller
8
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Interesting (2 more)
Great characters
Creates emotion
Not a thriller (0 more)
Does a lot with little
This was not exactly as I perceived it, I thought it would be a thriller/crime fiction type story but it is not. However, that doesn't detract from how good it is.

The story is full of twists and turns, that slowly unwind the characters and explain why they are how they are, sort of. I think the characters are brilliant and the way they are described/actions they take just makes you hate them.

Overall its sad to think that families are like this and it was interesting to see the same events from different viewpoints. I liked that the time frames shifted but were still easy to follow, when I first realised this I was apprehensive as I often forget to read the chapter name as I'm too excited to crack on.

There could have been more delving into the many mental health issues in the book. I also didn't like the hinting towards mental health being hereditary.
  
Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1)
Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters #1)
Talia Hibbert | 2019 | Romance
4
7.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book just wasn't for me, and I'm really sad about it because I'd heard nothing but good things. I totally appreciate what the author was trying to do with the sentiment that just because someone is chronically ill doesn't make them any less desirable or mean they can't experience life and pleasure and I actually really liked that aspect of the novel along with the representation of a man recovering from abuse and that's the main reason I'm even giving it two stars but on a whole, it just didn't work for me. I found the development lacklustre, they hated each other for about ten seconds before they were both attracted to each other and I just wanted more buildup (or just have them not hate each other at all that works too) and it was just a little too steamy for my personal tastes. Romance novels are such a personal thing, and I totally appreciate why so many people love this book, but it just didn't work for me!
  
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Angel Olsen recommended 5 to 7 (2015) in Movies (curated)

 
5 to 7 (2015)
5 to 7 (2015)
2015 | Comedy, Romance
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I've always loved Angès Varda and been obsessed with Cleo from 5 to 7. I kept thinking of that specific movie when I was singing "Chance" because I was like, "I wonder, cinematically, does this song belong in my version of Cleo from 5 to 7?" [The film is] about a singer — she's obsessed with herself but she's also so sad, alone, and isolated. She only has the woman who works with her and is taking care of her. And then she goes to see a fortune teller and the fortune teller tells her she has cancer. She's having a rough temperamental day after the fortune teller. The day goes [on] and you don't really have empathy for the character at first, but then over time you get to know her. I really like that. [Agnès] features this character in this way because it shows you that even when you imagine that someone's life is super easy and they're obsessed with themselves, that's not really the full story"

Source
  
Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary (1997)
Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary (1997)
1997 | Comedy, Documentary
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"I really like documentaries a lot; maybe more than film. I love this documentary called Hands on a Hard Body. It was made in the 1990s, I think. It’s about this annual event that takes place in Texas — it’s kind of like an endurance test of how long you can keep your hand on a truck. And if you are the last man standing, you get the truck. Literally, you just stand, day and night with your hand on a truck, and there’s like 15 or 20 people all standing there. And it’s such a well-done documentary. They feature each person before the program starts; the director comes in and he asks them questions like, “Why do you want to do this? Why do you want your truck?” and it’s just a real, unique look into people’s lives. It’s really powerful and it’s really moving and it’s kind of funny and odd and bizarre. It goes on for, I think, over 72 hours, and it’s really sad as you see this people dropping out. It says a lot about human endurance."

Source
  
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Stuart Braithwaite recommended Pink Moon by Nick Drake in Music (curated)

 
Pink Moon by Nick Drake
Pink Moon by Nick Drake
1972 | Rock
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"It's a perfect record. Succinct, sad, melodic, definitely its own thing. The simplicity of it was a big thing for me, that music that simple can also be really moving… I think a lot of the simplicity of it might be to do that he was having a hard time and couldn't get it together to do anything particularly complicated, but it is a wonderful record. Just doing enough and never overblowing anything works so well. Has my music taste changed? I've always listened to quite loud and quite quiet music so I don't think getting older has changed it that much, not that I can think of. I think Belong is the only quite new record on this list, which is a bit fogeyish, but I guess you have to take a long time to know if something really is the best ever. Some of these lists you look down and they say 'best album of all time - number three, The Strokes!' No, wait, something has happened here. There is a disturbance in the force."

Source
  
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.