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In this collection you will find 12 short stories that are set during the 1800s in the frontier of our expanding country. As the name of the collection proclaims each story highlights a bride's journey to love and romance. This collection has a wide variety of stories and characters. While I thoroughly enjoyed each story, a couple of my favorites were: The Festive Bride by Diana Lesire Brandmeyer, The Nutcracker Bride by Margaret Brownley and The Christmas Tree Bride by Susan Page Davis.

What better way to get into the Christmas spirit than 12 novellas written by some of my favorite authors? Each author did a wonderful job of capturing the Spirit of Christmas in just 50 short pages. Every story drew me into the heart of the season. The blessing that God gave us in Jesus' birth is demonstrated beautifully. Love, forgiveness and redemption are the main focus of this collection. If you are looking for a good Christmas read, I recommend this collection. You can read one here and there or burn through the whole collection in a week like I did. Either way, you are sure to enjoy the festivity between the pages.

I received a free digital copy of The 12 Brides of Christmas from Barbour Publishing Inc. through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
  
Lies We Tell Our Kids
Lies We Tell Our Kids
Brett Wagner | 2018 | Humor & Comedy
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
short, entertaining book is that more appropriate for adults than children
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Lies We Tell Our Kids by Brett Wagner is a short, entertaining book is that more appropriate for adults than children. This book is an example of some of the lies parents tell their children, mostly to keep them in line and behave well. It is funny as a "look back" to the lies we were told as children and, in return, told younger children. I remember my grandmother telling me that thunder was caused by angels bowling. That lightning occurs when angels take a picture was new to me.

This book is less than 100 pages and each page states a "lie" that is one sentence so it is a very fast read. For every lie, there is a corresponding, colorful illustration which are imaginative and allow for eye rolling and shaking of my head. I have heard of a few of the lies mentioned but most of them were new to me and gave me a good chuckle.

I read reviews of this which were posted on Goodreads. Many reviews rated it low. I think they should have taken into consideration that this book is not intended to be taken seriously. Just enjoy its quirkiness and have fun!
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Cells at Work Vol. 1
Cells at Work Vol. 1
Akane Shimizu | 2016 | Comics & Graphic Novels, Humor & Comedy, Young Adult (YA)
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Informative (2 more)
Interesting Storytelling
Creative Personification
Cliche at Times (0 more)
Ever wanted to learn about the human body in a fun and interesting way? Ever thought about personifying blood cells?

Probably not but Akane Shimizu did and wrote a cute, wholesome manga while doing it too!

Cells at Work Vol. 1 is the beginning of a short series that follows a new Red Blood Cell (RBC) as she tries to figure out how to do her job within a human body. While doing so, she meets other blood cells like a White Blood Cell and cute little Platelets while the human body get attacked by everyday things like the flu or a scrape on the knee.

This manga takes the human body and makes it very interesting. Each character, which represent a different cell within the body, comes with unique characteristics and traits that match what that cell does beautifully. You can tell that the writer took the time to look up what each cell did within the body and how to personify it and make it relatable without tarnishing the job that the cwll does.

I highly suggest this manga to anyone who is new to manga as it's a nice introduction into the genre especially since the series is so short. It's also light hearted (thus far, I only read the first volume!) And enjoyable to read.
  
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ClareR (5859 KP) rated Fourteen Days in Books

Sep 22, 2024  
Fourteen Days
Fourteen Days
Margaret Atwood, Douglas Preston | 2024 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I enjoyed Fourteen Days, and it was a very handy book to read at the time. I was hanging around a hospital (my mum was ill, but recovered now), and the short story style was just what I needed to distract myself when I couldn’t really concentrate.

This is set in New York, and is based around an apartment block during the Covid 19 lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic. The inhabitants meet on the roof, keeping the required distance from one another, and tell stories of their lives pre-Covid.

A constant background is the noise from the ambulances delivering sick people to the nearby hospital.

Fourteen Days was written by several authors, each telling the story of a different inhabitant of the apartment block. The reader isn’t aware of who has written which story until the end. I liked this, because it didn’t give me any preconceived ideas of what the stories would be like - and there are some very different writing styles. The janitor runs throughout the novel, collecting all of the stories, telling her own story and trying to solve an ever-present mystery within the walls of the apartment block.

An enjoyable book, and I can definitely say that its a great book to dip in and out of when you’re short on time (or read all one one go if you can!).
  
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ClareR (5859 KP) rated Pity in Books

May 6, 2024  
Pity
Pity
Andrew McMillan | 2024 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics, LGBTQ+
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Pity by Andrew McMillan is a compassionate book that’s as much about the town it’s set in (Barnsley) as it is about the people in it.

I can’t honestly tell you which parts I liked best: the thoughts of the miners as they trudged to the mine and worked there; the sociologists researching the history and decline of the town; and Simon, who works in a call centre by day and has a drag act in local clubs and bars at night. Each part blended with and gave explanations for every other component of this book, and explained the impact on the next generation.

Simon’s sections and the preparation for his show, where he would dress as Margaret Thatcher were particularly engaging. Her impact on ex-mining towns are clearly still apparent, and Simons alter ego, Puttana Short Dress, appears dressed as the Iron Lady with the slogan “This turn is not a lady!” - it’s a genius act!

I was left wondering where Simon and Ryan’s relationship would go, as Ryan seemed unhappy about Simon wearing his makeup on the journey home after his act had finished. Could he accept Simon - ALL of Simon?

This was a short read, that I would happily have read if it was twice (or more!) the length - it was all over too soon!

Recommended.
  
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century
Timothy Snyder | 2017 | History & Politics
READ THIS NOW!
Apologies for such a forthright command, but this pithy and punchy short book is an absolute must-read. In less than 200 pages, Timothy Snyder, a Yale chair and renowned historian, describes why our actions today matter.

Along with Burleigh and Kershaw he has exposed the monstrosities of the evil regimes ruled by Hitler, Mussolini, Lenin, Stalin, Pol Pot and other tyrants who have murdered at home and abroad. Having extensively studied both right-wing and left-wing tyrannical regimes, Snyder goes onto look at the 2016 presidential campaign and Donald Trump. "Post-truth is pre-fascism," he writes, in one of many passages that seem to cast the US as a society in a pre-fascist stage.

Snyder succinctly suggests that 20 lessons from history are invaluable if we are to avoid democracy collapsing as it did after 1918. History he agrees does not repeat but it does instruct.

In a world where truth, reality and fantasy are thrown into a huge melting pot - having a book that researched facts, presents political history and encourages the reader to make their own decisions is a liberating read.
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Sarah (7800 KP) rated Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian in Books

Jan 17, 2018 (Updated Jan 17, 2018)  
Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian
Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian
E.L. James | 2015 | Erotica, Fiction & Poetry
1
6.1 (22 Ratings)
Book Rating
As bad as the original trilogy
I actually feel embarrassed that I’ve read this book. I read the original trilogy (skim reading by the time I got to the third one) and was vaguely interested in seeing if it being told from Christian’s perspective made for a better read. Short answer is no.

This has obviously been written for the money and I don’t doubt that it’s done very well. However Christian’s perspective is not a good one. In the original books he’s very aloof, cold and confident but in this he just comes across as a petulant clingy teenager. I’m sure it was intended to show his softer side, but it’s just made him out as weak and ridiculously irritating. His internal monologue too is atrocious, his constant use of “baby” made me want to cringe and it makes him sound so childish.


And the “erotic” parts.... they’re just repetitive, laughable and about as erotic as dirty dish water. This book (and the rest of the trilogy) are just a nonsense fairytale for people who don’t know any better. Avoid at all costs!
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Jade Clarke-Mackintosh (7 KP) Jan 18, 2018

Totally agree I read it for the same reason and it was basically just a recap of everything that has happened. No change in perspectives as all!
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One of us is Lying
One of us is Lying
Karen M. McManus | 2017 | Young Adult (YA)
10
8.3 (41 Ratings)
Book Rating
You know those books that you don't only read, the ones that you inhale and absorb, this is one if those books.

It's been a little while since I read a young adult book so he fact that the language was so simple and there wasn't any imagery and metaphors really put me off at the start but as soon as the story got going I was HOOKED.

I'm a sucker for character development and getting to delve into the innermost thoughts of the four main characters and learning how they think and how they react, and slowly unravelling the secrets that they keep was such a thrill.

The plot could have been weak and if stop be praising how much I relate to all the characters even in a small way but that's not just it. The story flowed so well, even with the jumps of perspective they just left you hanging and wanting to read more, I never wanted this book to end.

This little world has become so special to me in such a short amount of time that this story and these characters will stay with me long into the future.
  
Reap This (Oh So Happy Holidays #1)
Reap This (Oh So Happy Holidays #1)
Rafe Jadison | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
It did not go down the way I thought it would and I loved that it didn't.
Independent reviewer for Archaeolibrarian, I was gifted my copy of this book.

I was surprised by this book, I really was!

It did not go down the way I thought it would and I loved that it didn't. It doesn't END the way I thought it would either, and, after reading, I thought, "yeah, okay, I liked that ending, even if Seamus doesn't get his full happy ever after"

BUT

Then I read book two straight after this but before writing the review, and now I am mighty, MIGHTY pissed at Jadison!

Read them, back to back and you'll see what I mean!

Back to the book. Only Seamus has a say here, and I would like to have heard from It/Mine as Seamus calls the spectre he summoned, but that's just me being greedy. Its only short, some 70 pages, and I read it in one go. It packs a sexy punch though, and poor Seamus does go through the wringer here!

4 stars, not least because I know what happens in book 2!

**same worded review appears elsewhere**