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A delightful read! I loved this story from start to finish. Ms. Delamere hooked me instantly and kept me turning the pages long into the night. The Heart's Appeal is a story that will make you smile, make you think, make you want more of this fabulous author's work.

Julia and Michael are complex and wonderfully chiseled. The interactions between the two were beautifully done, and the story line was rich in historicaly detail. The way that Ms. Delamere pieced Julia and Michael's story together, was captivating and delicately done.

These characters, this story line, the history, the inspirational messages woven throughout, all made this story one that I will turn to again and again. It played out like a movie, and the characters all came to life, bringing me into the heart of the story right along side them all.

This is a 4 star novel that I recommend to all! If you want a book that will suck you in, and keep you hooked until you're reading the last page, then look no further than the talent of Ms. Delamere and The Heart's Appeal. It's sure to leave you wanting more!

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*
  
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ClareR (5836 KP) rated Social Creature in Books

Jun 17, 2018  
Social Creature
Social Creature
Tara Isabella Burton | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Thriller
7
8.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
A story of our times?
I really don't much like it when books are compared to other books. To be honest, I haven't read The Talented Mr Ripley (which is what Social Creature has been compared to), and I'm not much inclined to after reading this. I 'liked' Social Creature, but I didn't love it. None of the characters are remotely likeable. They're all shallow, duplicitous and out for what they can get. It's a story of today. Louise pretends she is someone she is not, so that she can be like Lavinia: rich, frivolous, thin and beautiful. Louise can't quite keep up though. She doesn't have the money, and she needs to work. Louise's life spirals in to more lies and worse is to come. It's a fascinating yet truly horrible story. I did really like the ending though!
  
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Kristie (106 KP) rated The Brilliant Death in Books

Sep 18, 2018 (Updated Sep 18, 2018)  
The Brilliant Death
The Brilliant Death
Amy Rose Capetta | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)
8
7.8 (4 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great storyline
The Brilliant Death by Amy Rose Capetta is a great young adult fantasy novel with a unique storyline. The designs inside the book and the cover art are absolutely gorgeous and I can't wait to see what the final version of this book will look like. I really enjoyed the characters and how they develop as the story goes on, and the rich setting of this world. I really enjoyed learning about the strega and their history alongside Teodora as she learns about her self and how she came to have her unique magic. I loved how Teo and Cielo's love develops and unfolds through the story and I can't wait to see what is next for them. The story had an amazing ending that already has me anticipating book two in this epic new fantasy series.
  
LG
Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)
2022 |
6
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Mia Kunis (0 more)
Interesting
A decent Netflix film part thriller mainly drama as a journalist for a New York based magazine is pursued for her account of an incidental that happened at her university years ago.
It's a good story based on a best selling book. Quite raw and gritty at times but also maybe has too many scenes around fitting in with the social elite and very rich. Didn't really deliver the ending it felt it was building up to.
  
Swimming Lessons
Swimming Lessons
Claire Fuller | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.8 (9 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great series of letters let down by monotony
Claire Fuller's writing is poetic and haunting in this novel especially as we read a series of letters left by a wife who has been missing for 12 years.

The story surrounds Ingrid, and her horribly destructive relationship with her writer husband Gil. Her youngest daughter Flora has to come to terms with these revelations, after idolising her father for so long.

My only concern is while the back and forth narrative between Ingrid's letter and the present day is well laid out, the story itself becomes lacklustre and the epilogue is a little misleading leaving a question mark over her death. Good writing but plot could be more rich.
  
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Milleen (47 KP) rated Our House in Books

Jan 14, 2019  
Our House
Our House
Louise Candlish | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
8
6.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
The Lawsons bought a house before the boom and are now sitting ‘asset rich’ in a leafy London suburb. Fi Lawson arrives home one afternoon to find her house has been sold and new people are moving in. Her estranged husband Bram has disappeared, and she is facing this chaos alone. Candlish opens with this almost farcical beginning and pulls you into the story. Things take a darker turn when Fi starts to relay her situation on a popular radio podcast. This timeline is spliced between paragraphs of a letter from Bram. As both sides of the story unfold and both characters think they know all the facts, this novel is an interesting twist on domestic noir. Thoroughly enjoyable.
  
Beside the Ocean of Time
Beside the Ocean of Time
George Mackay Brown | 1995 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Imagry, place, the story is great (0 more)
Nothing (0 more)
This is a brilliant, emotional and pretty book
This is a beautiful novel. I found it slow to begin with but it is worth while persisting. The story centres around the inhabitants of the isle of Norday is the North of Scotland in the early 20th century. The protagonist Thorfinn Ragnarson is a bit of a daydreamer and his thoughts and dreams are narrated within the novel. This allows Brown to explore a rich and sentimental Scottish history whilst capturing the beauty and untouched lives of these rural Scottish farmers. Furthermore, the novel explores the effects of the Second World War and its devastation on these simple folks. Lovely.