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Jessica - Where the Book Ends (15 KP) rated What's Left of Us (Us, #1) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
This book is wonderful! The characters are easy to relate to and the story keeps you guessing. I was lucky enough to read this before it went to the editor and I absolutely loved it!
The characters of Asher and Beck are great. They are best friends and they both go through some pretty epic changes (which I won't share because I don't want to give away any of the story).
Enter Calla or Cal for short. She is the new girl in the neighborhood and she quickly befriends Ash and Beck. The three of them are inseparable. Of course being friend with two boys is going to lead to some drama, but that's just the tip of the ice berg.
Honestly, I wasn't prepared for this book. The story took me by surprise and the emotion involved just blew me away.
What's Left of Us is a Christian novel; however, be advised that religion and religious beliefs are NOT shoved down your throat. This is a great book about a group of friends that endure a tragedy and through the help of their religious beliefs manage to come out whole on the other side.
Give this debut novel by this talented new author a shot. You won't be disappointed.
The characters of Asher and Beck are great. They are best friends and they both go through some pretty epic changes (which I won't share because I don't want to give away any of the story).
Enter Calla or Cal for short. She is the new girl in the neighborhood and she quickly befriends Ash and Beck. The three of them are inseparable. Of course being friend with two boys is going to lead to some drama, but that's just the tip of the ice berg.
Honestly, I wasn't prepared for this book. The story took me by surprise and the emotion involved just blew me away.
What's Left of Us is a Christian novel; however, be advised that religion and religious beliefs are NOT shoved down your throat. This is a great book about a group of friends that endure a tragedy and through the help of their religious beliefs manage to come out whole on the other side.
Give this debut novel by this talented new author a shot. You won't be disappointed.
Merissa (12669 KP) rated Outrageous Offer (The Double O Saga #1) in Books
Dec 17, 2018
I received this book from Totally Bound Publishing in return for a fair and honest review.
This is a short but steamy tale of the old West, when men were men and women did what they were told. Hyacinth has been left high and dry by the two men she was supposed to marry, left in a town in the middle of nowhere and no-one will help her. Only one person will help but his offer comes with conditions.
In spite of this, he is her only chance of not working in a saloon so she accepts. Things very quickly heat up between them. The more time the spend together, the more they fit. Life doesn't have a way of running smoothly though and Offer and Hyacinth have their own hurdles to cross.
This was very well-written and moves at a very swift pace. My only concern is that it finishes quite abruptly, even though it is an 'ending' and not a cliffhanger. The characters are all relateable, whether you're supposed to like them or not, you follow the author's lead.
For a swift read about the Wild West, I can recommend this book.
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
This is a short but steamy tale of the old West, when men were men and women did what they were told. Hyacinth has been left high and dry by the two men she was supposed to marry, left in a town in the middle of nowhere and no-one will help her. Only one person will help but his offer comes with conditions.
In spite of this, he is her only chance of not working in a saloon so she accepts. Things very quickly heat up between them. The more time the spend together, the more they fit. Life doesn't have a way of running smoothly though and Offer and Hyacinth have their own hurdles to cross.
This was very well-written and moves at a very swift pace. My only concern is that it finishes quite abruptly, even though it is an 'ending' and not a cliffhanger. The characters are all relateable, whether you're supposed to like them or not, you follow the author's lead.
For a swift read about the Wild West, I can recommend this book.
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Phil Leader (619 KP) rated Tongues of Serpents (Temeraire #6) in Books
Nov 27, 2019
On paper this book ticks all the boxes for one that I should like: Alternate history, historical setting and dragons.
Unfortunately the reality for me fell well short fo what I felt could be acheived. This is the first book by Novik I have read and perhaps starting at number 6 means I am missing something, but this just failed to gel.
The concept of the dragons being a reality and influencing history was one that was easy to grasp but so very little was done with it. The dragons themselves are quite dull - far from the spectacular beast of legend they have little interesting to do and virtually no personality. There is also not a great deal of plot strung out very thinly involving a chase across Australia, but it takes so long to get going and the chase is repettitive and didn't capture my imagination.
There are some sparks of good ideas here - the smuggling, the political issues in Sydney (caused by the governer - a certain Captain Bligh) - but they end up undeveloped and drowned by the plodding narrative which doesn't seem to want to examine anything that doesn't involve the dragons.
The central idea may have promise in other books of the series, just not this one. Sorry Naomi
Unfortunately the reality for me fell well short fo what I felt could be acheived. This is the first book by Novik I have read and perhaps starting at number 6 means I am missing something, but this just failed to gel.
The concept of the dragons being a reality and influencing history was one that was easy to grasp but so very little was done with it. The dragons themselves are quite dull - far from the spectacular beast of legend they have little interesting to do and virtually no personality. There is also not a great deal of plot strung out very thinly involving a chase across Australia, but it takes so long to get going and the chase is repettitive and didn't capture my imagination.
There are some sparks of good ideas here - the smuggling, the political issues in Sydney (caused by the governer - a certain Captain Bligh) - but they end up undeveloped and drowned by the plodding narrative which doesn't seem to want to examine anything that doesn't involve the dragons.
The central idea may have promise in other books of the series, just not this one. Sorry Naomi
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Glittering Court (The Glittering Court, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
In a few words and sentences, The Glittering Court feels like a complete mashup of the Bachelor and the Bachelorette with a disguise and a bit of sass involved. I adore sassy countesses, but unfortunately, the sass didn’t really last long. Once Adelaide and Cedric finally get together, it seems like a happily ever after despite the not so great circumstances (all I could do was internally scream, “Where is your sass Adelaide?!?!?!”), and The Glittering Court slowly went down a boring avenue.
Overall, I have mixed feelings in regards to Richelle Mead’s latest book. It is definitely much different than her other books – I just feel like something might have fallen a bit of short. Maybe I’ve read way too many of Mead’s books, but The Glittering Court felt a little too predictable – each plot twist that was meant to be unexpected and surprised came across as something completely expected.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/mini-reviews-part-1-emily-skrutskie-marie-lu-and-others/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
In a few words and sentences, The Glittering Court feels like a complete mashup of the Bachelor and the Bachelorette with a disguise and a bit of sass involved. I adore sassy countesses, but unfortunately, the sass didn’t really last long. Once Adelaide and Cedric finally get together, it seems like a happily ever after despite the not so great circumstances (all I could do was internally scream, “Where is your sass Adelaide?!?!?!”), and The Glittering Court slowly went down a boring avenue.
Overall, I have mixed feelings in regards to Richelle Mead’s latest book. It is definitely much different than her other books – I just feel like something might have fallen a bit of short. Maybe I’ve read way too many of Mead’s books, but The Glittering Court felt a little too predictable – each plot twist that was meant to be unexpected and surprised came across as something completely expected.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/mini-reviews-part-1-emily-skrutskie-marie-lu-and-others/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Girl Who Lived Twice in Books
Mar 19, 2020
I can't quite let go of the Millennium series and Stieg Larsson's Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, despite the fact that the late author no writes the books. This novel, however, is timely, covering the topic of Russian trolls and their impact on social media and politics. We get short snippets in each chapter told from the point of view of a variety of characters, so the story moves fairly quickly. Lagercrantz lacks Larrson's meticulous detail and his exploration into the character's psyches, as well as the true intense reporter that shined in Larrson; the trade-off: the books do seem to move at a somewhat quicker pace.
Still, Lisbeth and Blomkvist just don't seem the same as they were in Larrson's world, and I miss my old friends. There's also a lot of focus on Everest in this book--it's plot-related, but it gets to be a bit much. More Lisbeth and Mikael, less mountain, please. It makes the story more complicated than it needed to be, perhaps. Still, there's plenty to keep us entertained, including more from Lisbeth and her sister's dark past.
Overall, a fairly engaging read, but lacking that special flavor and special Lisbeth/Mikael zest that Larrson always brought to the series. 3.5 stars.
Still, Lisbeth and Blomkvist just don't seem the same as they were in Larrson's world, and I miss my old friends. There's also a lot of focus on Everest in this book--it's plot-related, but it gets to be a bit much. More Lisbeth and Mikael, less mountain, please. It makes the story more complicated than it needed to be, perhaps. Still, there's plenty to keep us entertained, including more from Lisbeth and her sister's dark past.
Overall, a fairly engaging read, but lacking that special flavor and special Lisbeth/Mikael zest that Larrson always brought to the series. 3.5 stars.
TQ
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