Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (5000)

Content

Merissa (12358 KP) rated Yours and Mine: A Serrulata Saga Romance Novella in Books

Jan 31, 2023

A delightful read and definitely recommended by me.

YOURS AND MINE is a novella in the Serrulata Saga and, although I haven't read any of those, I was able to enjoy this one without any issues.

The strict rules that Octavia has to live by, as a daughter of a Great House, become even more constrictive once she becomes of age. She hates being shown off and handed off to different men to dance with. When she spots someone by themselves, her interest is roused. Once Octavia and Gerald meet each other, it is clear they belong together.

I loved the world this is set in, with the comments about the Ancients. It has certainly given me a reason to search out other books in this series. The writing itself is clear and concise, giving plenty of descriptions but not too many to bog you down. I thought the relationship between Octavia and Gerald moved along nicely, staying within the constraints of Society whilst allowing them to make up their own minds, and also trying to convince those who thought they knew best.

A delightful read and definitely recommended by me.

** 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!

Kudos

Vindictive Too

Ryan Lawrence

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The best revenge never includes forgiveness. To truly punish the guilty, something worse must be...

Thriller LGBTQ+

The Professor's Lady (The Thompsons of Locust Street #3)

Holly Bush

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Meet the Thompsons of Locust Street, an unconventional family taking Philadelphia high society by...

American Historical Romance Gilded Age Philadelphia

Murder at Keyhaven Castle

Clara McKenna

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

With her wedding to Viscount “Lyndy” Lyndhurst just days away, strong-willed American ex-pat...

Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2273 KP) rated Murder at a London Finishing School in Books

Jul 26, 2023 (Updated Jul 26, 2023)

Returning to Their Alma Mater Means Murder

Brit Edwina Davenport and American Beryl Helliwell first met at Miss DuPont’s Finishing School for Young Ladies and forged their decades long friendship there. But now they’ve been hired by Miss DuPont to find out what is going on at the school that is driving down enrollment. The duo aren’t getting far with their investigation when they stumble on a dead body. Have the pranks escalated to murder?

If you look for the dead body to drop early, you might be disappointed with this book. I wasn’t. Between the early investigation and meeting the new characters, there was plenty to keep me engaged. Of course, things kick up a notch when murder enters the story. The ending, while logical, did feel a little rushed, but that was a minor complaint. We don’t see much of the series regulars, although a couple do make cameos. The new characters more than make up for it, and I appreciate how complex they were by the end. Beryl and Edwina grow as a result of visiting some place from their past. The story is set in the 1920’s, and things going on in society infuse the book. If you enjoy historical mysteries or mysteries set in England, you’ll be glad you picked this up.

Kudos

Cori June (3033 KP) rated Prudence (The Custard Protocol, #1) in Books

Dec 12, 2021

Banter between characters (1 more)

Vocabulary

Too much description on fashion esp Dresses (2 more)

Hardly any plot

Hardly any character growth

If I didn't read this in an overdramatic unserious way, I would have hated this book. Prudence has the ability to get on the nerves and has very little character development. There is great banter between all the characters, and that was enjoyable.
If you took out all the descriptions of the dresses (and other outfits) you'd have 1/3 of a book. It was during these points where I questioned where the plot went cause it had a tendency to disappear.
I wouldn't say it was a puff and fluff book cause I don't want to disrespect those books but if it wasn't for the vocabulary and banter I'd probably would have DNF the book. I was disappointed that there wasn't as much steam-punk elements as expected and more supernatural elements then I realized. (My own fault for not properly reading the book blurb.)
I think that the author dropped the ball on some of the boundary pushing elements such as: talking about the colonization of Inda, pushing the boundaries of women in British society and social class. All in all I was amused if a bit bored at times and not sure if it's worth a second read through or to continue on in the series.

Kudos

LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated The Forever Purge (2021) in Movies

Jul 6, 2022

The Forever Purge (2021)

2021 | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

6.0

(12 Ratings)

Movie Rating

At this point, we all know what we're getting when a new Purge film shuffles it's way into the harsh light of day. Lots of shooting, CGI blood spatters, characters looking super serious as their protective shutters roll over the windows and doors of their houses, and some vague message about society and the state of America. All of this is present and correct for the latest installment of this ever popular franchise, and to be quite honest, it's entertaining as hell. It may be predictable, it may be on the nose with what it's trying to say, but it pulls off some genuinely tense action scenes (there's one extended long shot in particular, later on in the runtime, that looks incredible), shakes up the formula by showing us what a Purge night may look like from the viewpoint of immigrants, and delivers a film that not only portrays America descending into absolute chaos, but does a good job at making it feel legit.
The Forever Purge is hardly breaking new ground, but still manages to feel somewhat fresh in a horror series that is 5 films deep. It's also a decent recovery after the last film seriously stumbled. All in all, a popcorn movie that will surely be a bucket of bloody fun if you leave your brain at the door.