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Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Choice in Books

Aug 29, 2020  
The Choice
The Choice
Alex Lake | 2020 | Crime, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
My exact words when I finished this book ... "Wow - that was good!"

This is sold as being "The gripping new thriller you won’t be able to put down!" and I am going to have to agree ... I wasn't able to put it down and read it way too late into the night but it was worth it. From the very first to the very last page, there is no let up and it grabs you, throws you around and doesn't let go.

I loved everything about it - the characters, the plot, the pace, the writing style - everything and it's not often I say that. The only "complaint" I have is that it is so good, I found myself reading it faster and faster because I was desperate to find out where the next twist and turn would take me so I ended up finishing it way too quickly and felt sad when it had ended.

I have read a couple of books by Alex Lake previously "Seven Days" and "Copy Cat" and this is by far the best one yet and I very much look forward to reading the next which is due out in 2021 - a sneak peak of which I found at the end of The Choice.

Thanks must go to HarperCollinsUK, HarperFiction via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
  
Consumed (Firefighters, #1)
Consumed (Firefighters, #1)
J.R. Ward | 2018 | Contemporary, Humor & Comedy, Romance
6
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The opening chapters were great, but I'm not sure I would call home about it.
Let's start with the good: who doesn't love a firefighter romance? I mean, there's hot and then there is HOT.
Immediately, I was given stakes. There were fires and lives on the line. Decisions that would alter a life forever. Amazing characters and the kind of tension I could shatter my little heart with, It was like I was walking a tightrope --and I was hooked. This was GREAT.

But then about 50% through the book, I realized I had no clue where the story was going. There was definitely a lag for me, a slump where the plot seemed to just hover and not really move forward. The whole premise promised in the blurb of Anne hunting down a killer kinda stalls. I found myself actively looking for action, but unable to find really any movement forward. By the end, much of the plot came together. However, it was too rushed. I truly feel this could have had better pacing to it and a better Act 2 to support the story.

That aside, the book is great for anyone who doesn't mind the hiccups and lags. But for me, I'm not sure I would read this again, which is sad because I do like some of Ward's other books.
  
Against the Loveless World
Against the Loveless World
Susan Abulhawa | 2020 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Against the Loveless World is an emotional and stark view into the world of Nahr, a Palestinian refugee. She is narrating her own story from The Cube, an inhumane prison cell designed by the Israelis, where she is a political prisoner. Nahr tells her story from her beginnings in Kuwait, and how her family were once again forced to become refugees. She tries to help her family however she can, even prostituting herself with violent men at one point. But her family never go without.

When she returns to Palestine to her husband’s family in order to divorce him, she meets his brother and falls in love. However, this is the start of more problems for her, as she becomes radicalised.

It did seem hard to believe that she had quite so many problems and terrible things happen to her, but I’ve since read that Nahr’s character is an amalgamation of several real-life stories. So, in a way, it reassured me that one person couldn’t experience ALL of these things, whilst at the same time I felt so sad that anyone could experience ANY of these things.

I couldn’t put this book down, though. It’s a fascinating, yet horrifying novel, and not something that I’ve read about in fiction before - and I’m so glad that I have.
  
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Russ Troutt (291 KP) rated The Many Saints of Newark (2021) in Movies

Oct 4, 2021 (Updated Oct 4, 2021)  
The Many Saints of Newark (2021)
The Many Saints of Newark (2021)
2021 | Crime, Drama
2
5.5 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The Many Saints of Newark is the many scenes of pointlessness. Easily the biggest movie letdown of the year for me so far. Let's start with letting you know this is not an origin story of Tony Soprano, although it was marketed as such. I love that they casted James Gandolfini's son in the role of young Tony, but his role was small and you could remove him from the movie altogether and it wouldn't have changed anything about the movie. Actually, you could remove just about any character in this movie and it wouldn't matter because there was no real story happening!

It felt like someone stumbled upon a shitty script that partly involved a mafia family and they were like, let's slap Soprano's characters names on these characters and call it a origin story for The Soprano's. The movie is all over the place with a bunch of pointless scenes edited together with characters that aren't developed that ultimately lead nowhere of importance because, as mentioned above, there's no real story here. So sad to see such a great cast wasted on this movie. And sadly, it's so bad it probably ruins the chance of a follow-up movie that could be what this movie should've been. Big pinky finger down for me for The Many Saints of Newark.